Munroe Bergdorf is “proud” of her latest role as the first ever LGBT+ ambassador for Childline, the free support service for under 19s.
The model, who has been become a vocal advocate for queer and trans youth, tweeted news of her appointment, saying: “The wellbeing and empowerment of LGBTQIA+ identifying children and young people is something that I have been passionate about throughout my career as an activist.”
Childline is a free and confidential 24-hour service for young people to contact if they are worried or need help – calls to the helpline 0800 1111 don’t show up on a phone bill, and children can also email for support via the website.
“If your child is coming to terms with gender issues, remind them that Childline is always here for them,” the charity tweeted to mark the start of Pride month.
[Read More: 6 Pride events across the UK that won’t break the bank]
The NSPCC, which has run Childline since 2006, said the helpline led more than 6,000 counselling sessions for children about gender and sexual identity last year – including on the subjects of coming out and homophobic bullying.
Bergdorf, 31, is no stranger to bullying – the first transgender woman to model for L’Oreal, she was also a short-lived LGBT+ adviser to the Labour party before resigning from the post, citing pressure from the right-wing media.
A regular on Good Morning Britain, where she holds her own with Piers Morgan, Bergdorf also appeared on Channel 4′s Genderquake: The Debate last year with Caitlyn Jenner, where both women were heckled with transphobic abuse.
[Read More: Munroe Bergdorf’s must-haves: Mac studio fix foundation and cocoa butter]
The announcement of her new role comes at the start of international Pride month, but also at a time of fierce debate over equality in UK schools.
At Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham, some parents have protested over wanting to remove their children from the school’s ‘No Outsiders’ lessons, which teach about LGBT+ relationships, race, religion, adoption and disability.
Tory leadership contender Esther McVey suggested parents should be able to withdraw their children on religious grounds until the age of 16, but the chief inspector of schools, Amanda Spielman, has warned parents cannot “pick and choose” whether their children attend lessons about LGBT+ relationships.
The teacher at the centre of the storm, Andrew Moffat, told HuffPost UK that the anger of protests goes to prove LGBT+ education must start at primary school.
“I want children to be proud of who they are. And I think all parents want that for their children,” Moffat said in an exclusive interview for HuffPost’s Proud Out Loud project, which profiles the next generation of LGBT+ change-makers.
“My hope for the future is that no LGBT child goes through what we went through in the 1980s. I want them to know that it’s alright and you’re going to be ok.”
